Is the rise of memecoins making them the new NFTs for celebrities?
Celebrities are diving into the web3 ecosystem with the introduction of celebrity tokens on Solana (SOL), adding excitement to the world of memecoins in the crypto space. Caitlyn Jenner launched a coin called JENNER via the SOL-based memecoin portal pump.fun, but the token’s price plummeted after developers dumped on users, leading to accusations of a rug pull. It was later revealed that a scammer named Sahil was behind the incident, taking advantage of Jenner’s lack of knowledge about web3 to profit from her memecoin.
In a similar vein, Australian rapper and OnlyFans model Iggy Azalea released her own memecoin called MOTHER, which saw a surge of over 30,000% and reached a market cap of $30 million within 48 hours. However, Sahil also launched an IGGY coin to exploit Azalea’s hype, resulting in another pump-and-dump scheme.
Despite the success of these celebrity memecoins, skeptics compare the trend to the NFT boom of 2020/2021, where high-priced digital collectibles dominated the crypto space but eventually lost their appeal. Critics argue that the NFT era was short-lived and use its decline as a way to criticize the broader crypto industry.
Memecoins, like NFTs, have faced criticism from experts and industry observers. Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of Andreessen Horowitz, scrutinized the memecoin space, likening it to a risky casino. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko urged developers and users to focus on more sustainable projects, as scam-ridden and highly volatile meme projects raised millions of dollars in a matter of hours. Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin condemned racist meme protocols and called for community growth beyond gambling to support more meaningful projects.
Despite the doubts surrounding memecoins, they continue to launch at a rapid pace, with nearly 500,000 memecoins being released since April 1, according to Binance. These meme tokens cover a wide range of themes, from political satire to animal-inspired projects, making some traders overnight millionaires while leaving others financially devastated.
The growth of memecoins driven by celebrity adoption highlights the intersection of Hollywood and the crypto world.
